Dry Spell Hits Livelihoods of Women Farm Labourers in Erstwhile Adilabad District
The women labourers have thus appealed to the state government to provide employment under the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme.
Adilabad: The prolonged dry spell and delayed monsoon due to the El Nino effect have disrupted agricultural operations, affecting the livelihoods of women agricultural labourers across the erstwhile Adilabad district.
The women labourers have thus appealed to the state government to provide employment under the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme.
In the interim, agriculture officials have advised paddy farmers to opt for alternative crops, such as pulses. According to preliminary estimates, cotton has been sown over 4.30 lakh acres, soybean in 56,000 acres, red gram in 42,000 acres, and maize over 21,000 acres in the Adilabad district so far.
However, poor germination of cotton and soybean seeds due to insufficient soil moisture and prolonged dry conditions has forced many farmers to take up re-sowing and gap-filling.
Rukmini Mora, an agricultural labourer from Ankoli village in Adilabad Rural mandal, said women labourers earn ₹250 a day compared to ₹500 by men, despite playing a significant role in agricultural operations.
She said due to the prolonged dry spell, there is no work available to them. They are thus finding it difficult to support their families during the current Kharif season.
Another labourer Pathi Venkatamma urged the government to provide work under the VB-G RAM G) scheme or through the horticulture and agriculture departments, so that they could subsist.
Kolam Adivasi farmer Kodapa Radha Bai of Dahiguda said her family have recently begun sowing red gram after receiving a few spells of rain. She hoped the crop would germinate successfully.